Rotproofing of textiles, paper, and other fibrous materials



Patented Apr. 21, 1942 UNIT T ROTPROOFIN G OF TEXTILES, PAPER, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS No Drawing. Application October 20, 1937, Se-

rial No. 170,051. 5, 1936 4 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of paper and of fibres, yarns, fabrics and other materials used for textile or other purposes, which are liable to suifer rotting or deterioration, or whose properties would be adversely affected by exposure to humid conditions, to seawater, or atmospheric influences, or the influence of moulds, fungi, bacterial attack, or other depredations.

It is well known to treat textile materials, liable to such adverse influences with bactericides, fungicides, or insecticides; and metallic salts of the complex acids derived from the distillation or refining of coal tars, petroleum or other crude oils, have been proposed in this connection.

According to the present invention, a process for treating paper, textile and other fibrous materials (of the kind hereinafter referred to) which enables them to resist deterioration, notably to render them rotproof, comprises treating the materials, simultaneously with, or prior to the sizing operation, with a normally water insoluble rot-proofing agent, a metallic salt or an ester or naphthenic acid or a mixture of such salts and/or esters dispersed in an aqueous vehicle, which will not coagulate the sizing liquid, or in the sizing liquid itself.

The invention also includes a composite liquor for simultaneously rot-proofing and sizing the said fibrous materials, which liquor comprises a stable dispersion of a normally water insoluble rot-proofing agent as above specified and a sizing composition (for example, a rosin wax size) in an aqueous medium.

The materials which may be treated in accordance with the invention, include textile materials such as fibres, slivers, rovings, threads and yarns, textile fabrics, either woven, knitted or netted, for example, of cotton, jute, flax sisal, Phorium tenax, ramie, silk or rayon; paper, paper pulp or paper boards, fibre or fibre boards and the like; composite surfaces such as plaster or plaster boards; or wood or wood pulp.

Among the rot-proofing agents above specified,

I have obtained good results with metallic naphthenates (for example aluminium or zinc naphthenate) In Great Britain November paper size. Alternatively, the paper or other fibrous material prior to the sizing stage, may be impregnated with the aqueous dispersion of zinc naphthenate and subsequently sized in the ordinary way.

In the case of textile materials the fibrous material impregnated with a rot-proofing agent in'accordance with this invention, as a preliminary or subsidiary operation may be easily oiled in the softening or teasing process since the rotproofing agent in the form of a stabilised dispersion (for example, an ammonia-stabilised metallic naphthenate dispersion) will assist these operations in a similar manner to a wetting agent.

If desired, the rot-prcofed and sized material may be treated with a water-proofing agent. For this purpose rubber in the form of stabilised rubber latex, suitably compounded, may be employed as the water-proofing agent; and in this case the usual vulcanising agents and curing accelerators may be incorporated; or in place of suitably treated or compounded rubber latex a vulcanised rubber latex or latex gel may be employed.

What I claim is:

1. A composite liquor for sizing and ,rotproofing materials, which liquor comprises a mixture of a sizing composition in the disperse phase and a rot-proofing material in the continuous phase and comprising a normally waterinsoluble compound of naphthenic acid stably, dispersed in an aqueous vehicle by means of an alkali.

2. A composite liquor for sizing and rot-proofing materials, which liquor comprises a mixture of a sizing composition in the disperse phase and a rot-proofing material in the continuous phase and comprising a normally water-insoluble metallic salt of naphthenic acid stably dispersed in an aqueous vehicle by means of an alkali.

3. A composite liquor for mixture of a sizing and rot-proofing materials, which liquor comprises a sizing composition in the disperse phase and a rot-proofing material in the continuous phase and comprising a normally water-insoluble ester of naphthenic acid stably dispersed in an aqueous vehicle by means of an alkali.

4. A composite liquor for sizing and rot-proofing materials, which liquor comprises a mixture of a rosin wax size in the disperse phase and a rot-proofing material in the continuous phase and comprising a normally water-insoluble salt of naphthenic acid stably dispersed in an aqueous vehicle by means of an alkali.

WILLIAM JAMES CARTER. 

